Coal bunker



R. A. M MULLIN COAL BUNKER Oct. 27, I 1,558,739

Filed April 15, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fljni/enezf l .7. 9 c a v2 Oct; 27, 2 1,558,739

.R. A. M M ULLIN :com.) BUNKER Filed April 15, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i [n wanton Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROY A. MOMULLIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 STEPHENS-ADAMSON MNFG. 00., A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

. ooAL BUNKER.

Application filed April 15, 1925. Serial No. 23,417.

To all whom it may oon-cemt:

Be it known that I, ROY A. -MoMULLIn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coal Bunkers,

, of which'the following is a specification,

and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

In modern power plants, including a battery of boilers, it has become customary to store the coal in elevated bunkers having discharge spouts, from which the coal is delivered into conveyances, usually called weigh lorries, which in turn deliver the coal to hoppers from which it passes to the boiler furnaces. The coal is either delivered wet or is sprinkled to lay dust, and in consequence water collects in the spouts and has heretofore dripped to the fl00r-0f the boiler room, because the gates closing the spouts are not water tight. The principal object of this invention is to dis- .pose of" this accumulation of water.

In the accompanying. drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a power plant including a battery of fur- Traces, an overhead bunker, etc.;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation from a plane indicated by the line- 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper portion of a. weigh-lorry and a spout showing the parts in the position they assume just before the lorry begins to open the spout Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts in an intermediate position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the posi tion they assume when the spout is fully open; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 2.

10 indicates a battery of furnaces including hoppers 11 and grates 12. '13 is an overhead coal bunker equipped with a plu at about the middle of the spout.

of disposal.

meshing teeth 25, by which the gate secv tions are made to move simultaneously in opening or closing the spout. lveights 26,

carried by arms 27. tend to close the gate sections and hold them in closed position.

According to this inventiona drip pan is normally located beneath the joints 21 and equipped with means for conducting the accumulated water away to a suitable place Preferably these pans 28 are of inverted V-shape form. as indicated in Fig. 6, and have their bottoms inclined to one side. as best shown in Fig. 2. The walls 29 and 30 close the ends of the V-shaped pans. The wall 29 is provided with a threaded boss 31, which receives a suitable lengthof tubing 32 extending laterally and delivering to a gutter 33, which in turn delivers to a down spout 31 leading to a suitable place of disposal.

The pans are equipped with arms 35 and 36, having hubs 37 and 38 journaled on pins 39 located centrally with respect to the spouts 14 This rotatable mounting of the drip pans permits them to be readily moved clear of the spouts to allow delivery of the coal. Lost motion connection is provided between the pans and the gates, sothat the initial movement of the pan toward clear position does not affect the gate. but after the edge of the pan has cleared the joint- 21 further movement of the pan requires like movement of the gates toward open position. This lost motion connection may take a variety of forms. I

In the preferred construction here illustrated. the arms and 36 are provided with curved slots 40 and 41. which freely receive pins .42 and 4-3 carried by the gate sections 19 and 20. The slots. however. terminate in shoulders 44. which limit the relative movement between the pan and gate members in one direction. The shoulder 44 on the arm 36 is in a position reverse to that of the shoulder on the arm In this way the gate may be rotated to the right in 5, and the shoulder 44, cooperating with the pin 43, will serve to open the gate while the pin 42 merely moves idly through the slot 40. In like manner the pan may be rotated to the left inFig. 5, and the pin 42, co-operatin g with the corresponding shoulder 44, will effect an opening of the gate while the pin 43 moves idly through the slot 41.

The weigh lorry is equipped with a contact arm 45, for swinging the pan as the lorry comes into position to receive coal from the particular chute This arm is mounted on a rotatable shaft 46, having weighted arms 47 and a. chain and counterweight 48, by which it is held in either position to make the arm operative or inoperative, as desired. The pans 28 are equipped with contact rollers 49 and for cooperation withthe arm 45.

Then the operator desires to take coal from a particular spout he moves the weigh lorry in proper alignment with the spout. As the lorry approaches this position the arm 45 comes in contact with one of the rollers 49 or 50, depending on the direction from which the approach is made. As shown in Fig. 3, it contacts with the roller 49. Further movement to the right from the position shown will bring the parts to.

the relation shown in Fig. 4, in which the edge of the pan 28 is just clearing the joint 21 between the gate sections, and the pin 43 is about to engage the shoulder 44 and tie the gate section 20 to the pan 28 during any further movement to the right, by which the parts are brought to therelation shown in Fig. 5. Further movement to the right takes the arm 45 beyond the roller 49 and permits the gates to dro to closed position and the pan to assume its normal position beneath clear I have shown and illustrated a specific construction which I now prefer, but I do not intend thereby to limit the claims "or to require an interpretation of them that will permit the substance of the invention to be appropriated without infringement.

- I claim as my invention 1. In a device'of the class described, the combinationof a spout, a gate including two pivotally mounted sections connected to rotate simultaneously in opening and closing the spout, a pivotally mounted drip pan extending beneath the gate, and a 'lost mo- .ing and closing the spout, a

tion connection between the drip pan and each of the gate sections.

2. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a. spout, a lorry adapted to travel beneath said spout, a ate for open- Iaterally movable drip pan extending beneath the gate,

a lost motion connection between the drip pan and the gate, and means carried by the lorry for engaging with the 'drip pan.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a spout, a gate including two sections connected to swing together to close the spout and to swing apart to open the spout, a drip pan extending beneath the junctureof the gate sections, arms carrying the drip pan and pivoted centrally with respect to thespout, and a lost motion connection between the drip pan and the gate.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a spout, a gate including pivoted sections connected to swing apart to open the spout and to swing together to close the spout, a drip pan extending beneath the joint between said gate sections and mounted to swing aside to clear the spout, and a lost motion connection permitting limited movement of the drip pan with respect to the gate and requiring one section of the gate to move with the drip pan beyond that limit.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a spout, a gate including sections adapted to move in opposite directions to open and close the spout, a drip pan extending beneath the juncture of the gate sections and adapted to move laterally to clear the spout, and a lost motion connection between the drip pan andone of said gate sections.

6. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a spout, a gate closing the spout, a drip pan extending beneath the gate, and a lost motion connection between the gate and the spout.

7. In a device of the class described, combination of a spout, a gate closing spout, a drip pan extending beneath the gate, lost motion connection between the gate and the spout, a discharge for the drip the the pan and means for receiving water from the.

ROY A. McMULLIN. 

